Boiler-alarm.



W. LOUDON.

BOILER ALARM.

APPLIGATION'IILED NARA, 190.7.

Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

ms NORRIS PETERS smmn'ou n. c.

WILLIAM LOUDON, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

B OILER-ALARM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 1, 1908.

Application filed. March 4, 1907. Serial No. 360,495.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM LOUDON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler-Alarms; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to low water alarms for boilers, and has for an object to provide a device of the class embodying the expansible members of an ellipse into which steam is admitted from the boiler. i

A further object of the invention is to provide in a device of the class a column arranged for connection with the steam generator and provided with a plurality of passages, one communicating with the ellipse and the other communicating with an alarm.

A further object of the invention is to provide in an expansible ellipse means for mgidly connecting opposite ends of the ellipse and means for connecting the ellipse with the alarm by a rod along the minor axis.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises certain other novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of the improved low water alarm broken to permit the exhibiting of the parts enlarged. Fig. 2 is a view in vertical section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the column upon which the ellipse and signal is carried and seen on arrow 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view taken on line 44 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the column taken on line 55 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a view of the device in side elevation seen from the side opposite that of Fig. 1 as on arrow 6 of Fig. 2, and shown complete but in reduced size.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The alarm forming the subject-matter of this application comprises a column 10 adapted to be secured to the shell of a steam generator, as 11, and having screw threads, as at 12, for such connection and a polygonal shouldered portion 13 for engagement by a wrench or other implement.

Adjacent to its upper end the column 10 is provided with a T-head 1 1 within which are secured the spaced ends 15 of the ellipse 16. Communicating with the spaced ends 15 of the ellipse 16 is a passage 17 extending vertically and longitudinally within the column 10 and provided at its lower end with means for engagement with a pipe 18 having its lower end 19 extending downwardly within the steam generator to the low water or danger line shown at L in Fig. 2. The column 10 is also provided adjacent to its upper end with a branch or neck 20 having a passage 21 formed therein and in communication with a passage 22 extending longitudinally of the column 10 and adjacent to and in parallelism with the passage 17. The passage 22 terminates at the lower end of the column 10 within the shell 11 of the steam generator.

The opposite ends of the ellipse 16 are provided with stirrups 23 which said stirrups are connected along the major axis of the ellipse by means of a rod 24, whereby the opposite ends of the ellipse are held rigidly against expansion.

At the upper side of the ellipse and opposite the T-head 14 a separable block 25 is clamped upon the tube of the ellipse in any approved manner as by the screws 26 and provided with a pet-cock or bleeder 27 carried thereby and in communication with the tube of the ellipse.

Rigidly secured to the block 25 and eccentrically of the ellipse tube 16 is a rod 28 extending along the minor axis of the ellipse adjacent to but stopping short of the T-head 14. Adjacent to its lower end the rod 28 passes through one arm 29 of the bell-crank lever pivoted at 30 upon an arm 31 which said arm is rigidly carried by the base or valve portion 32 of the whistle or alarm. The valve 32 has the vertical plunger 33 in position to be engaged by the arm 34: of the bell crank lever whereby steam from the passage 22 is admitted to contact with the whistle shown conventionally at 35. It will be seen that the valve 32of the whistle is carried upon a nipple 36 upon the upper end of the neck 20. The arm 29 is provided with an opening somewhat larger than the rod 28, as shown particularly in Fig. 4:, and the said rod 28 has in its lower end a convex nut 37 engaging within the opening of the arm and preferably with a jam nut 38 engaging the under side of the convex nut 37 In operation it is found that when the passage communicating with the whistle receives steam from the pipe as 18 which depends within the generator to the low water line that water passes through the whistle passage and is detrimental to the operation of the whistle. To eliminate this objection the passage 22 is provided within the column taking steam from adjacent to the shell of the steam generator so that dry steam is at all times supplied to the whistle, When the water in the boiler or generator is at normal height, or N, in Fig. 2, the lower end 19 of the pipe 18 is covered and steam is not admitted to the passage 17 and the ellipse 16. Under such conditions the ellipse 16 retains its normal size. When, however, the water in the generator falls to the low water or danger line, or L in Fig, 2, then steam is admitted through the pipe 18 into the ellipse 16, and by reason of its heated condition the ellipse is expanded. The opposite ends of the ellipse being rigidly tied together along its major axis expansion along that line is not permitted and expansion is only possible along the minor axis of the ellipse or coincident with the rod 28. The lower side of the ellipse being held rigid by the T-head 14 the expansion must necessarily be upward to move the block and its associated rod 28. The upward movement of the rod 28 exerts tension upon the arm 29 of the bell-crank lever and causes the arm 3a to exert pressure upon the valve stem 33 to open the valve controlling communication from the passage 21 to the whistle and to sound the alarm,

' What I claim is i' In a device of the class described, an upright column provided with parallel passages extending longitudinally thereof, a nipple formed at the lower end of the column adapted for connection with the shell of a steam generator and to place the column with the parallel passages in communication with the interior of the generator, an extension tube secured to one of the passages and extending a predetermined distance therefrom, a T-head o d upo the upper e d o he sa pe sage, a tubular ellipse having spaced ends secured to and in communication with an opening of the T-head, a rod extending along the major axis of the ellipse and binding the ex tremes of the ellipse rigidly together, a collar clamping the ellipse at the upper side and n rmedi e its extremi y a d. exten ng laterally upon one side of the tube, a rod secured to the collar and extending along the min r xis o he e ipse, nd, learing t rod extending along the major axis, an offset formed upon the column in communication ith the passage n pr v ed with th e tension pipe, a steam whistle carried upon the offset, a wiper adapted to operate the steam whistle, and means connecting the wiper with the lower extremity of the rod which extends along the minor axis of the el ipse- In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM LOUDON.

lVitnesses:

G, WARD KEMP, O. C, PHI LIrs. 

